Cyclone
by ShadowHunter19
Summary: Riley O'Brien is a genius and the younger sister of Walter O'Brien. Her eccentric genius brother with his IQ of 197 leads a ragtag team of geniuses called Scorpion. But then Federal Agent Cabe Gallo of the U.S. DHS recruit's Scorpion to help solve complex, high-tech threats around the globe. What will happen when Riley finds herself falling for one of her friends? ON HIATUS
1. Secrets and Being Recruited

A/N: Toby/OC and Water/ Paige  
A/N: Bold Italic is Cabe in text and phone calls.  
A/N: All outfits, cars, and such are on my profile page  
A/N:  
A/N:

Chapter 1: Secrets and Being Recruited

* * *

Riley P.O.V

* * *

_Flashback: Callan Ireland_

_"Walter please. Pretty please with a cherry on top. Please." I ask pouting with my puppy dog eyes on full blast. _

_"Fine." Walter says in exasperation put I can see the love and adortion shining in his eyes. _

_"Thanks, Walter your the best big brother ever." I say happily throwing my hands around him and hugging him tightly._

_"How is it that you are only one year younger than me but you still act like a little kid?" Walter asks trying to sound annoyed but I can hear the amusement in his voice. _

_"Because I will forever be young at heart. No matter what the age." I say with utter confidence that makes Walter smile. _

_"That's my girl." Walter says ruffling up my hair before turning to his computer. He startes to hack NASA and I know within an hour the goverment are going to show up. _

_It's been an hour since Walter hacked NASA and surprisingly no one has shown up yet. As if to contredict my last thought there is a noise in the distance. Sudde__nly the air is filled with the sounds of helicopters. I peek outside through Walter's window and see three helicopters land and a bunch of soldiers jump out of them._

_"WALTER!" Dad screams and I wince. We are going to be in so much trouble. _

_"You better hurry up." I says turning back around. _

_"Almost done." Walter says completly focused on his task. _

_"Walter! Riley!" Our mom screams.I hear them break through the front door and mom scream. I can't even imagine how scared Mom, Dad, and Megan are right now. Soon after mom screams I hear the pounding of many footsteps on our staircase. I quickly move so I am standing behind my brother. _

_They break through the door and they are standing there pointing their guns at us. As soon as the door is thrown open Walter picks up a pen and the papers he printed out to get us out of this mess and turns to the soldiers. _

_"This is a Immunity agreement and extradition waiver. Sign them, and I'll tell you how I hacked into NASA." Walter say standing ready to protect me if anything goes wrong._

_"Corporal to command. We have Scorpion. He's just a kid." One of the officers says into his walkie talkie. _

_"Leaders maintain position to leave. Target is acquired." Somebody else says. They put handcuffs on both Walter and I and lead us out of the house where Mom, Dad, and Megan are standing. _

_"__I just wanted the shuttle blueprints for my wall and my sisters wall." Walter says defensively to Mom and she starts to cry. Walter looks past our parents and sister to the driveway of sorts and I do the same. Two black__ stereotypical __SUV's pull into the driveway and I__ instinctively __move closer to Walter._

_A slightly older but tougher looking Agent gets out and starts walking towards us. I whimper softly and Walter grabs my hand. _

_"What's your name, son?" Asks the Agent as he bends down so he is eye to eye with Walter and I. _

_"Walter." He reply's and tightens his grip on my hand which draws the guys attention to me._

_"And you little one?" He asks. _

_"Riley and I'm not little." I say stubbornly and he laughs. _

_"Okay." He says simple smiling and all I can think about is happy and kind he looks when he smile so I inform him of that._

_"You should smile more. You look much happier and kinder when you do." I say. _

"Riley! Riley!" Someone shouts breaking me from my thoughts.

"What?" I snap looking up into the dark chocolate eyes of my now older and somewhat wiser brother, Walter.

"Are you okay?" He asks concerned.

"Fine." I snap again tense from not hearing from Cabe in four months.

"Really because Happy was "borrowing" power and you didn't stop her or at least complain and your not helping Sylvester with the formula he's doing." Walter says with a frown.

"I just got distracted." I says curtly and get up.

"I'm fine." I snap seeing Walter give me another worried look.

"Yeah you're fine just like you've haven't been snappy these last 4 months" Happy mutters and I snap around.

"What was that?" I asks sharply

"Nothing." Happy says putting her tools away while I glare at her.

"Shh! Keep your voices down! Just for a minute!"Toby say bursting into the warehouse and slamming the door close. He puts his ear to the door until he can hear the car speeding away, outside.

"Uh, Toby tell me you have the Lynwood payment." Walter says hopeful but I can tell by Toby face he does not.

"First, can I note how I nearly tripled the Lynwood payment?" Toby asks fidgeting and I roll my eyes and smirk.

"So those thugs are chasing you down to give you a big congratulations?" Happy asks sarcastically.

"I beat them in poker! They're born chumps! Pupils that dilate like saucers whenever they had a good hand." Toby says trying to defend himself.

"Come on! A Harvard-trained behaviorist should know that people don't like to get cheated!" Sylvester scolds Toby and I have to struggle to keep in my laughter.

"I hate you." Happy and I say in unison.

"No, you don't." Toby says out of breath.

"We have a combined I.Q. of nearly 700, and we can't even pay our bills." Walter says stressed and paces up and down.

"We had a bad day!" Toby says trying to calm Walt down but Walt doesn't let him.

"We've been at this two years! The whole reason why I started this company is because we have more to offer than just fixing routers!" Walter says frustrated.

"Walter, I'm reading a textbook panic response to normal financial stressors." Toby says and I roll my eyes.

"Not helping Toby." I say.

"Okay, if this thing is going south, Walt, just let me know, 'cause I have a cousin who owns a garage in Phoenix..." Happy starts to say but Walt interrupts.

"No matter how hard we try... and I know we're all trying... we're a million miles from normal." Walter says and I can tell he is starting to believe that.

"We'll be fine Walt. I promise." I say.

"How do you know that?" Walt asks but pounding stops me from answering. From the look on Toby face I can tell the thugs are back. Suddenly their are sirens and then knocking replaces the banging.

"Homeland Security." A voice shouts.

"Is this you?" Walt asks looking at Toby.

"No." Toby says casually and I have to hide my grin. I run to the back to see if we're surrounded and for once I am thankful for being able to hear everything very clearly.

"We're looking for Walter and Riley O'Brien!" The guy shouts and I hear a sliding sound which I can only assume is his badge being pushed under the door.

"It's a badge." Happy says confirming my suspicions and I start to head back. I get there and see Walter looking at the badge so I go join him. I hear the door open but don't look up. Walter hands the badge to me.

"No, no, no, no. Get out. Get out! " Walter says.

"I wouldn't be here if I weren't desperate, trust me." A familiar voice says making me snap my head up.

"Cabe!" I shout and run over to the Agent and hug him. He laughs and picks me up and spins me before setting me down.

"Hi, Mi Pequeño Luchador (My Little Fighter in Spanish)" Cabe says with a smile while the rest of the team minus Walt looks on confused. Walter just looks both hurt, angry and slightly confused.

"How you been?" I asks.

"Good but there is business to attend too." Cabe says and I nod.

"Wait! What!" Toby says confused and unable to keep quiet any longer.

"Who are you?" Happy asks.

"He's Federal Agent Cabe Gallo." Walt says tightly.

"And how do you know him?" Toby asks turning to me.

"We both knew from when we were all younger." Walter answers for me and I glare at him.

"Then why is she happy to see him and you not?" Happy asks.

"We worked together years ago. The outcome was unfavorable." Walter says and I wince.

"You didn't tell him?" Cabe ask but I stay silent.

" You said you were going to tell him." Cabe says slightly angry. Toby looks from Walter to Cabe to Me then back at Walter again then speaking up.

"So, what I'm getting is that Walter and Cabe have bad blood between them but Riley and Cabe do not. And that while Walter and Cabe had a falling out and lost touch, Cabe and Riley did not and Walter did not know that. Did I miss something?" Toby asks confidently.

"Nope." I say popping the p.

"Get out of here now." Walter snaps.

Put it aside, O'Brien. I need you. 45 minutes ago, there was an automatic software upgrade in the LAX control tower. It had a bug. Now the entire system's down." Cabe says going back into "Agent" mode as I call it.

"Wa-wait... all the communications are down?" Sylvester asks worried.

"Contact's been lost between Long Beach, LAX and Burbank. Incoming flights have been diverted. But the ones that were about to start their descent...56 of them... are out of comm range. NASA's trying to work a satellite hook-up. FBI's attempting a Morse code signal from the observatory. We need you on landing guidance, those planes run out of fuel." Cabe recites.

"And crash. And crash, Walter!" Sylvester says.

"Sounds like... catastrophe is imminent. So, go find someone else. Now." Walter says harshly.

"Really Walter! Really! Your going to let innocent people die because you hate Cabe for something that wasn't even his fault. " I shout fed up with his attitude but he ignores me.

"How about a certified Federal check for $50,000 in each of your pockets? I ran checks on all of you. Mechanical prodigy, world-class shrink, a human calculator. Brilliant minds working at half-capacity. You want to do something meaningful? Here's your chance. You don't, people and metal will be falling from the sky in less than two hours. It's your call." Cabe says and I know the idea of helping him is sounding even better to Happy, Toby, and Sylvester.

"Even with half my IQ, I wouldn't be dumb enough to believe you twice."Put it aside"?"Forget about it and move on" is not an option for people with photographic memories." Walter says to Cabe still not over the "incident".

"Give us a minute." Happy says patting Walter on the shoulder and walking away. Walter and I run after Happy.

"What the hell are you doing?" Cabe asks Toby when he notices Toby standing like him. I look over and smile.

"I was mirroring you so your subconscious can relate to me. I thought it would help you relax." Toby says and I snort.

"Do you think it's working?" Cabe asks with a glare.

"Don't bother. That doesn't work on him." I call out with a smirk and Toby sticks his tongue out at me.

"Breaking this down logically, we're not just going to let those people fall out of the sky." Happy says and Walter nods.

"I'm telling you... I don't trust him." Walter says frustrated.

"Oh get over it Walter. You and I both know that what happened wasn't Cabe's fault so why do you continue to blame him!" I shout fed up with Walter's attitude about the "incident" and finally saying something about it to him. Walter and Toby look at me shocked at my outburst, although both for different reasons. Walter because we never really talked about the "incident" and Toby because Walter and I never really fight. I glare at Walter and storm away over to Toby and Cabe.

"You okay?" Toby asks and I nod grateful that he didn't use his "shrink" abilities on me.

"I'm fine." I says aloud but I can't help but wonder if I'm trying to convince them or me.

"Time is wasting. We've got 56 planes to land." Cabe calls out still in "Agent" mode.

"I call that his "Agent" mode." I whisper to Toby before laying my head on his shoulder and I can feel him laugh.

" LAX Tower Control is the main hub for all the other airports. Fix the software there, it auto-corrects in Long Beach and Burbank. So, the new software's the glitch... first step is to delete that, then download the old software, should be enough for the planes to land." Walter says turning around and looks at Cabe.

"So you're doing it?" Sylvester asks and Walter nods.

"Thanks." I says and Walter nods but avoids looking at me or my eyes. I frown, hurt by him ignoring me. Toby gives me a quick hug then walks away.

"We go to LAX... we fix the software, we are at a 90% chance of success." Sylvester says calculating our odds.

"Grab your equipment."

"Mine, too, please?"

"Must have been keeping tabs on me to find me so quickly." Walter says coming to stand on the other side of Cabe.

"I got promoted to the L.A. office. Only make sense that I would track you down." Cabe says casually.

"Your body language suggests that's about half the truth." Toby says walking past.

"Of course, there's a 10% chance that everyone dies." Sylvester says worriedly.

"You cross me on this, I'll go online... and in less than a hour, I will erase you." Walter says with a dangerous glint in his eyes before turning and walking out of the warehouse.


	2. Paige and Ralph

A/N: Toby/OC and Water/ Paige  
A/N: Bold Italic is Cabe in text and phone calls.  
A/N: All outfits, cars, and such are on my profile page  
A/N:  
A/N:

Chapter 2: Paige and Walter

* * *

Riley P.O.V

* * *

"Sorry about that. He has problems trusting people now." I say, glancing over at Cabe.

"That's fine. I would've worried if he acted normal. Welcoming me back into his life in all.' Cabe says with a shrug.

"You worried me. I was antsy and angry at everyone because I hadn't heard from you. Why couldn't you call me for FOUR months?" I ask one part hurt the other part angry.

"I had business." Cabe says sharply and walks away. I frown. Cabe and I promised each other that we would never lie to each other about important stuff and so far we've kept that promise to each other but I can tell Cabe is keeping something important from me and I am determined to find out what.

"You coming?" Sylvester calls from the SUV.

"Umm." I says glancing at the garage longingly. I had just finished upgrading my Black and Pink motorcycle and I am dying to ride it. Plus this would allow me to get away from Walter and Cabe. My eyes dart back and forth from the SUV to my motorcycle my mind furiously putting together algorithm's for the safest possible option.

"Well you coming or not?" Toby asks sticking his head out the car.

"Nope. I'll follow behind you guys on my motorcycle. I've been dying to try it out. " I say firmly, making up my mind.

"Or are you trying to avoid Walter. And also avoid the tension between Walter and Cabe." Toby says knowingly.

"Something like that." I say with a smirk before turning and running back into the garage. Once inside I run over to my desk and grab my Bluetooth and stick it in and call Toby. Then I grab my keys and run over to my motorcycle just as Toby answers.

"Aww. Couldn't get enough of me, could you?" Toby asks and I scoff.

"Not likely. I was just calling to make sure you told the others and to make sure to tell you to keep me updated." I inform him while climbing on my bike and starting it up.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did and we're moving." Toby says.

"Bye." I say then hang up. I zoom out of the garage and soon catch up to the SUV's. After a few minutes my Bluetooth rings and I answer it.

"What's up?" I ask worriedly.

"Gallo's getting a call." Walter's voice comes through and I can still hear the anger in his voice.

"I want to talk to Toby." I say tightly.

"Why?" Walter asks angry.

"Use your brilliant IQ of 197 and figure it out. Now give the phone to Toby!" I say my voice rising to a shout. I hear a shuffle as the phone gets passed around.

"What's up? And why does Walter look shocked?" Toby asks curiously.

"Never mind that, what's going on?" I asks changing the subject.

"Shit. LAX is unreachable for hours. No copter. We're heading to a diner." Toby says.

"The one Walter fixed the WiFi for earlier today?" I asks and I hear Toby asks Walter.

"Yup! That's the one." Toby says.

"See you there!" I call then zoom off. I smile as I get through the traffic with ease. I get to the diner before them, so I just wait in front. After a minute or two of waiting for them to arrive I decide to go in because it is so hot out. Once inside I notice a little boy playing around with jelly packets and the salt and pepper shakers and smile. He reminds me of Walter in a way. I shake my head to clear those thoughts. I'm not going to forgive Walter that easily but it's going to be hard because Walter and I have always been close. I sigh and walk up to the counter bar and take a seat.

"Hi, What can I get for you?" A voice asks.

"I don't know. What's good?" I ask looking up to see a brown haired waitress with a kind smile.

"Well, my son Ralph likes the Chocolate Milkshake and a order of extra large fries." She says with a smile.

"Then I'll have that - Paige. Can you make my order to go?" I say with a smile.

"Coming right up." She says with a smile before walking away. Just then I hear a squeal of tires, sirens blaring and turn to see Cabe and the others tear into the parking lot. They all stumble out and rush into the diner.

"Owner!" Cabe shouts startling everybody in the diner. Startled, Paige points and asks "What's happening?" but Cabe has already started moving to an equally startled Nemos.

"This is Agent Gallo of The Department of Homeland Security. We need to commandeer your diner for a national emergency." Gallo says then pauses. "You can stay but that's it." He flashes his badge and throws down an envelope of cash.

"Everybody out! You pay tomorrow! Come on!" Nemos shouts shooing people out. Paige starts to move towards the door but Nemos stops her.

"No, no, no, no, you stay." Nemos says.

"Uh, Nemos. No customers, no tips, and I cannot leave Ralph here with -" Paige starts to say but he interrupts.

"Listen, my immigration status makes me not so comfortable around Federal agents. You lock up." He says throwing her the keys and rushing out.

"Ralph? Good to see you again." Walter says nodding at Ralph as he walks past and I frown. Paige pulls Ralph to her protectively. He is watching Walter as Sylvester takes antibacterial wipes to the table.

"What're you doing?" Cabe asks.

"Any idea the levels of bacteria found on counter-tops?" Sylvester asks as he frantically wipes, "From chicken alone there are over 20 diseases you can get from exposure."

"Roughly 89 minutes until the first plane goes down. Their lives are in our hands!" Cabe shouts and Walter nods.

"Is there something wrong at LAX?" Paige asks worriedly.

"It's top-secret." I say.

"How can it be top-secret if the guy who set up our wireless is working on it?" She asks and I smirk.

"Happy, script a post check after the system's stabilized. Sylvester, run the odds on the patch linking back into the software. We do not want the same problem tomorrow. Toby... look for a saboteur." Walter orders and everybody rushes to do their assigned job.

"That's why." I says at Paige's shocked face.

"Walter, look for coffee. This is gonna take me, like, 90 seconds." Toby says rushing to the laptop.

"Screw this up, brains and guts are gonna bounce all over town." Sylvester says worried, yet slightly upbeat.

"Actually, fuel tanks ignite on impact. You won't find a body part." Happy says.

"Eh, a blood-soaked spleen could burn at a slower rate." Toby argues and I make a face.

"Hey, please check your language around my nine-year-old. Be decent in my place of work. Thank you." Paige says sternly and I smirk.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you from the moment I saw you." I say going to stand by her.

"Who are you? Who are they?" Paige asks looking at me.

"Well, Walter is my older brother and the rest are friends and we run a tactical team called Scorpion." I say and she nods. The door opens and an Agent walks in.

"Secure channel to LAX. Air traffic supervisor is on the line. His name is Brooks." Cabe reports and hands Walter the phone.

"Mr. Brooks, I'm hacking into airport security. I'm gonna rotate your cameras to point at the monitors. I'll see it remotely, and I'll walk you through each step." Walter says taking control of his laptop.

"Who am I on with here? I am not comfortable with you hacking into anything at this airport." We hear Brooks replies angrily.

"Then don't make it so easy. To answer your question, my name is Walter O'Brien, and I was brought in to fix your problem since you're not capable of doing it yourself. Look behind you. Say hello to the camera, Mr. Brooks." Walter says and I laugh quietly.

"Is he always like that?" Paige asks and I nod.

"Yup. What's so funny to me is that he's so snarky and he doesn't even know it." I say.

"I'm at your 10:00. Our goal is to reboot your computer and land those planes. To do that, hit control C right in between the flickers at the exact moment that I say now. Ready?" Walter asks and Brooks nods.

"Now." Walter shouts and there are beeps and groans.

"I missed. It's too fast. Moving on. You! Short sleeves and tie. You in the glasses! You code, right?" Walter asks.

"A little. How'd you know?" The guy asks.

"Lucky guess. What's your name?" Walter asks, all business.

"Randy." The guys says.

"Randy, take Mr. Brooks's seat." Walter says firmly.

"You guys are talking about planes going down. I'm just an intern." He says nervously.

"You just got promoted. Sit down!" Cabe snaps and Randy sits.

"Mr. Brooks, can you give Randy the original installation disk to download?" Walter asks and Brooks shakes his head.

"That software was installed 15 years ago. I have no idea where it is. The company went out of business." He says and Walter sighs in frustration.

"Where do you backup your data?" Walter asks.

"Blackstern Data Storage." Brooks says.

"Okay, we can get a copy of the old software from the backup server. I email it to Brooks, he clicks a link, and the system is up and running as if the corrupted software was never downloaded." Walter says and Brooks nods.

"Blackstern's on Ventura. Northeast. Opposite direction of the gridlock." Sylvester says, looking intently at his laptop screen.

"You should know that the data is backed up to the latest software every 12 hours on the five." Brooks says.

"So in 20 minutes, the last remaining usable software will be corrupted." Walter says nodding.

"Sylvester, call the data center; tell them we're on our way. I'm gonna prep here to relay to LAX." Walter orders and they nod, rushing to do as he says. Walter folds his hands and I can practically see the wheels in his brain turning, searching for a way to fix this.

"Bates, take 'em. Stay in contact." Cabe says, walking closer to the driver.

"Walter, you tell that waitress I'm gonna be right back." Toby says, looking down at his phone and moving to leave. Walter spins around and looks at him.

"Toby, in situations like this, carelessness, mistakes, they will haunt you. I know this from experience." Walter says, staring seriously into Toby's eyes.

"Walter, I'm always on point. Have you seen my hat?" Toby asks, quirking his lips into a smile. As he walks past me, I turn my attention away from Walter and to Ralph. He and Sylvester are quietly playing chess with the salt shakers, pepper shakers, jelly packets and sugar packets. My eyes widen as I realize what is happening...Ralph is playing against Sylvester (a grand-master) and is about to win!

All of us have have played against our resident grand-master and without fail, all of us have lost. Including Walter and here is this kid about to beat him in...my brain whirls, approximately 8 moves. I grin when I see I was right.

"Walter, you see this? Check mate in eight moves. This kid is amazing!" Sylvester calls out and I look over at my brother to see him standing by Paige who has a progressively more shocked look on her face.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your son is a genius." Walter say to Paige leaving her stunned before walking away.

"Sorry bout him. He's kinda blunt isn't he?" I ask walking up beside her. She jumps at the sound of my voice before turning to stare at me with a puzzled look on her face.

"How come you don't act like them?" She asks curiously and I tense up. "Not that it's a bad thing." She add quickly.

"I used to get bullied when I was younger. So, I studied the other kids and I mimicked them...I still do. It makes me normal." I say and she nods.

"Five minutes from now, the software we need disappears forever. If that happens, 20,000 people die." Cabe says pacing the floor nervously.

"Hey, Ralph, let's go in the office, okay?" Paige says to him and they disappear inside a room.

"We got to abandon the data center. We got to pull the team back, get four minds working together at once, and then, maybe within an hour, we'll be able-" Walter starts to says but Cabe interrupts.

"By then, the first two planes will be out of fuel. Do you really think you can come up with an option by then?" Cabe asks.

"Hold on. You're just accepting two planes going down." Paige interrupts.

"We lose two planes to save 54. That's a trade we're gonna have to make. Contact the FAA and tell them these two flights are terminal." Cabe orders.

"Agent Gallo is implementing the greater good theory. Loss is acceptable as long as the resulting gain is large enough." Walter says reluctantly with a sneer.

"No, it isn't! You save everybody. Normal people save everybody!" Paige says strongly and I grin.

"I'm not normal." Walter says indifferently.

"I don't care! Use that 197 IQ of yours. Take a deep breath and reset." Paige says angrily and walks away. I watch shocked as Walter seems to actually consider what she said.

"Reset. Reset, reset. Happy, we need to reset the door lock. We need to brown-out ten blocks around the data center." Walter says.

"Kill the electricity to part of Los Angeles?" Cabe ask.

"Mm-hmm." Walter says.

"Just turn it off in that one building!" Cabe says,

"We can't focus a surge that precisely, but a brief power surge will open up the door, and we'll be able to get in." Walter and I say in unison.

"You're gonna owe me a new slim pick." Happy say unhappily.

"All right, we need to find a municipal junction box that covers that area. It should be on a commercial street." Walter orders.

"Got one!" Bates calls out a few minutes later.

"Alright, calculate the kilowatts it'll take it'll take to overpower a surge within a ten-block radius." Walter says to Sylvester.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Sylvester cries staring at the chalkboard.

"Ooh. Not now, Sylvester." Walter says but Sly just keeps arranging the chalk.

"Wait, wait, what are you doing?" Cabe demands.

"I can't calculate without order; it's my process." Sylvester says.

"My process involves my foot in your ass." Cabe says and I growl.

"Try it you'll get a bullet in your foot." I snap and Cabe looks shocked, while Walter looks proud.

""Hold on. Here. One piece. It's the biggest and the smallest, so it's in order." Paige says as she shoves all the chalk off the board handing one to Sylvester.

"That works." Sylvester replies in relief.

"Uh, Sylvester, I don't want to hurry your process..." Walter says trailing off.

"500,000 kilowatts!" Sylvester shouts.

"All right! We need exactly 500,000 kilowatts. Can you handle that?" Walter asks and Happy scoffs.

"Come on. Who rigged our whole office this morning? I'm on it. Okay, ready? Here we go." Happy says.

"We're in. We're in!" Toby shouts.

"He doesn't even know we're here. He's wondering if those flashlights can be powered by the heat of the hand that holds them. Or he's calculating the cubic footage of the octagon clock. He thinks about anything. Everything." Sylvester says to Paige as she watches Ralph.

"Did you let him beat you, earlier?" She ask.

"No." He says shaking his head.

"I-I had no idea he even liked chess." Paige says.

"Few parents meaningfully engage with mentally enabled children. It's not your fault. It's just... how we are." Sylvester says trying to explain.

"How did your parents handle it?" Paige asks.

"Oh, I-I haven't spoken to them in ten years." Sylvester says but then there is a rapid beeping.

"NSA satellite link failed. Where the hell are your people? That kid Toby doesn't exactly fill me with confidence." Cabe says coming over and crossing his arms.

"Toby grew up penniless, gambled his way through school. Even then, he got his doctorate at the age of 17. Sometimes people like us need... repair... before we can fit into your world. " Walter says.

"I know the aftermath was devastating. I did keep tabs on you." Cabe says affection quickly flashes across his face before going back to his hard mask.

"Seat backs and tray tables up! Those planes are as good as landed." Toby says bursting in and I laugh.

"Endlessly patting himself on the back, the whole ride here."Happy says.

"I just want a statue of me at LAX." Toby says to Cabe.

"Now what?" Cabe asks.

"Easy as sending a file. Mr. Brooks, in a moment, you'll receive a bug-free version of the software. All you have to do is open your e-mail and click a link." Walter says sending the file but there is again a rapid beeping.

"Wait. The hard drive's frozen. The files are corrupted. They're useless." He says.

"We took it out as carefully as we could."

"How'd you transport it?"

It was wrapped in a towel, tucked in a door console so I wouldn't drop it."

"Was there an audio speaker in the door?"

"Toby: Yeah. So? What?"

"The magnet erased the hard drive. It's useless now. "

"No, no, no, no. It's not my fault. I didn't know anything about magnets in car speakers.

"You've stolen hundreds of them, Toby."

"Oh..."

"FBI just texted. They're out, too. We're at less than one percent, Walter...You know what I'm going to tell you. There was a fourth team. Tracking the planes via radar. Circling over the ocean... fighter jets..."

"You'll shoot them down?!"

" Same protocol was activated on 9/11 to prevent possible ground casualties."

"Can you think of anything we can do?  
(speed dial blipping) Contact Director Merrick.  
Tell him we need to activate the fourth option."

"Hey...Walter. I know what's going on."

"Actually, uh, there's only 100 people in the world who really know anything and unfortunately, you're not one of them."

"You're doing what Ralph does when he doesn't understand how to fix a problem. He panics and shuts down. When you don't know something, you feel like you don't know anything.

"For all practical purposes, I have no right brain. People with high IQ tend to have low EQ. That's emotional quotient. So these big speeches, pep talks... they don't work on me. They work on athletes, they work on children, they work on waitresses. They don't work on people like me."

"Oh, oh, I get it, I'm the dumb waitress."

"I never called you that."

"But I'm smart enough to know that you're scared. You don't know how to solve the problem and you're terrified because people will die."

"Well, they won't die because of me."

"And they won't live because of you, either, because you're just giving up and walking away!"

"Don't lecture me about how people dying will make me feel. I already know!"

"What does that mean? Walter... what does that mean?"

"I'll draft an alert for the Emergency Broadcast System ASAP."

"Don't hang up. Tell them there's still a chance."

"Put a pin in that, sir. We may have something here."

"Software is on the planes. They use a duplicate copy to communicate with the tower. Now, if they took off before this morning's update, like a flight from Australia or New Zealand, they'll still have the bug-free software on board."

"Okay. But we still have the same problem. What we need is seven miles over our head and there's no way to get in touch with the people who have it."

"Yes, there is."

"Klemmer Airfield is 20 minutes away. Get me there in ten, and I can download that software."

"If you're gonna shut down all the roads that lead to Klemmer Airfield, there's gonna be lots of moving parts. I still think it's the wrong play; the runways are too short there."

"It's just a low fly-by."

"There's a neighborhood next something goes wrong, you take out half a block."

"It's actually four blocks, but I won't let that happen."

"I don't know if that's going to be enough to get LAPD to set up rolling road blocks. We're talking about major roads in a major city. There's safety risks, there's procedure..."

"I know what you're doing. You're covering yourself in case of casualties."

"I don't put protocol over lives."

"Lives? Suddenly you're worried about lives?!"

"We can debate the past later. Right now, if you want my help, then let me make the calls and see if I can't get this done for you. Lets go."

"I know he thinks he's helping, but we don't have time for bureaucracy right now. Happy, if I hack you into the DOT, can you manipulate the traffic signals?"

"They're on standard sequencers; don't see why not."

"So you shut down the roads, we drive fast as hell, we might be able to pull this off. Toby, I need you to check the manifest...For a passenger up there whose phone is still on."

"Walt, I got this. Don't worry."

"Alright. I'm gonna need to upgrade my wireless antenna software to pick up the signal from the plane, so someone's gonna have to drive me there."

"Um... I don't have my license, but...I'm more of a bus guy...I-I understand the basic mechanics of-of how this works..."Sylvester says.

"Sylvester. I really need you here, helping Toby. But thank you, pal." Walter says with a smile and I notice Ralph watching us. He picks up his moms keys and gives them to her. She looks at him for a moment before turning to Walter.

"Uh, driving through L.A. with nothing but green lights... it's kind of always been a fantasy of mine." Paige says.

"At high speed? No." Walter says shutting her down and I roll my eyes.

"Somebody's gotta drive. Come on" Paige says.

"Your son needs you." Walter says.

"I've tried really hard, but I've never been able to fully connect with him, not in the way that I've seen him connect with you guys today. What my son needs is to see me help you. Please, Walter." Paige pleads.

" You're a good mom or a very bad one." Walt says but nods to Paige.


	3. Saving LAX

A/N: Toby/OC  
A/N: Bold Italic is Cabe text and phone calls.  
A/N: All outfits, cars, and such are on my profile page  
A/N: Italic is implied sarcasm. Italic is also thoughts.  
A/N:

Chapter 3: Saving LAX

* * *

Riley's P.O.V.

* * *

As soon as Cabe, Paige and Walter are out the door Toby rushes over to the computer. Sylvester goes and stands next to Ralph. I inch over to the counter and sit down. I put my head in my hands. All of of the emotions I bottled up and shoved down rise up. My breathing quickens and my chest tightens. I quickly start reciting pi. Slowly my breathing evens out out and my chest loosens.

"Okay, Walter, I'm tracking you on the traffic cams. They should start changing... now." Happy says and we can hear the sound of people honking their horns.

"It's working!"

"There's 440 people on the flight. They all have their phones off 'cause they're on a damn plane. How the hell am I supposed to communicate with them?" Toby asks frustrated and I grin. Toby grew up penniless, gambled his way through school. Even then, he got his doctorate at the age of 17. If anybody can figure out who has their phone on in that airplane it's Toby.

"Toby, did you find a passenger on one of those planes with an active phone?" Walter asks and Toby looks up panicking slightly. I get up and walk over to him. I smile at him reassuringly.

"Sylvester, I need more passenger names."He calls out. Sly hurries over.

"Novell software technology's too old to do any of this in five minutes. And even if someone's phone was on, how do we get in touch with them at 36,000 feet?" He asks.

"Old technology! That's it! We-we-we find someone with an out-of-date analog phone. The receivers are 10 times stronger than smartphones. They can get a signal up there." Toby shouts triumphantly.

"All right, we lose anyone under 50. Can't make over six figures. Can't work for a tech company..."Salesmen! Salesmen never turn off their phones. They risk losing business. And... duh duh duh duh duh duh...Gordon Tooley! Plastics salesman from Reseda returning from a work trip. Service is linked to a Retron A-64 analog."

"Call him!" Walter demands and I grit my teeth and roll my eyes. The phone rings.

"Hello?" A slightly gruff man's voice answers the phone.

"Mr. Tooley, listen carefully. This is Homeland Security. There's an emergency on your flight. We need your help." Toby says.

"Nice try, Sully. I'll see you at work, ya putz." The mans says and Toby rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, this isn't Sully, 'cause Sully wouldn't know that right now, outside of your window are the Santa Monica Mountains. And right above them are two F-22s, ready to shoot you out of the sky. So I need you to get off your ass, grab a flight attendant and tell them to get your phone to the pilot." Toby says rudely and I grin. No matter how upset or irritated I am Toby always manages to make me smile.

"Alright Walt, I'm having Happy reroute the call to you in three..two..one." Toby say.

"Talk to me, Cap." He says coming up behind me. As he wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder my body relaxes and I practically melt into his embrace.

"Cap?" I ask glancing sideways with a frown. He looks at me startled.

"You know Captain America. The badass super soldier." He replies with a grin. Seeing my confusion he reaches down and tugs on my shirt. I look down and grin, getting his joke. I'm wearing a white tank top with Captain America's shield on the front over my favorite pair of black ripped acid wash jeans and black strappy wedge sandals.

"So you think I look like a ninety year old man?!" I ask with a mock glare pretending to be mad at Toby. I move out of his embrace, put my hands on my hips, and glare at him while trying desperately not to laugh. He holds up his hands in surrender.

'NO! NO. That's not what I meant. I meant that both of you're completely badass and that you both are helping save people." He says hurrying to fix his mistake. I smile at him knowingly and he glares at me when he realizes I had tricked him.

"Seriously though, talk to me Smiley." He says, concern for me clearly shining on his face, as he pulled me back into his arms. I frown, fidget, and look at the ground debating whether or not to talk to him about what was on my mind.

"When Walter was 16 and I was 14, Cabe asked us to develop tracking software to drop military aid packages. So months later, we, uh, we turned on the TV, and saw bombs falling on Baghdad. They were using our system, and we designed it for speed over accuracy...so 2,000 civilians died."

"WOW. Well no wonder Walter has trust problems." He exclaimed looking stunned. I frown. Walter never got over the fact that Cabe "betrayed" him. After the incident Walter closed himself off.

He became less normal.

Less human.

Less like the big brother I knew and loved.

Love. Love is the wonderful, beautiful, heartbreaking thing that everyone has to endure. Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. Before the incident Walter was my brother and my best friend, my shoulder to lean on, the one person I knew I could count on. But now I wasn't so sure where we stood in our relationship. Walter and I were a team. We always had each others back.

And then we weren't.

And suddenly I had to watch my own back.

I had to learn to be independent.

Not to rely on him.

Loss is one of the many painful things that you have to learn to live with. When Walter retreated into himself I experienced loss for the first time. It wasn't actually the first time that I had lost something close to me, but it was the first time that it actually affected me in any way. Walter and I were and are really close. When he closed himself off from me I didn't know what to do.

How to handle myself.

What I did wrong.

For the longest time I blamed myself for him being so closed off. Walter and Cabe had been close, kinda like father and son. But me?

I was the the one who fully trust Cabe with my whole heart.

I was the one who adored Cabe.

So Walter said yes. He told Cabe he would design the tracking software.

And he was the one was betrayed by Cabe.

By the government.

But I was the one who lost the most that day.

I had lost my brother.

My best friend.

My protector.

The one person who understood me the most.

At the age of 14, I had a best friend and I was happy. When I was with him, I could forget about all the bullshit that was going on in my not so normal fucked up life. He had been my escape and I loved him for that and for many other reasons. Then in one foul swoop...he was taken from me and I didn't know how to cope with that. We had really loved each other. We could talk about anything and everything. But the rest of the world kept going and it felt like no one knew what I was going through. No one could understand the pain I was feeling. I wanted the world to stop. I wanted to just scream out, "Doesn't anyone realize how hurt I am?!"

I kept looking at people and thinking, "You don't have a care in the world, and look at me, I just lost my best friend and protector."

I thought things would never be the same again.

Would he ever come back to me?

Everything about him that had made him Walter, my best friend, my brother, and my protector was gone.

It was like he had died.

And it didn't seem like he was ever coming back.

That was the day I lost all my innocence.

That was the day I vowed to change.

That day I learned a new kind of strength.

That was the day that I began to live by the saying "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."

The pain I felt from losing Walter was like none that I had ever experienced before. I learned that life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, you just have to keep pushing through.

From then on I promised myself that, "Nobody can hurt me without my permission."

But that wasn't an easy promise to keep.

Even though geniuses aren't like normal people they can still hurt you.

They can still break you.

But hey, bad choices make good stories. And Walter's and my bad choice will make for a pretty damn good story.

"Happy, I need you to get me into a Ferrari 458." Walter says breaking me from my thoughts. Toby jumps back startled.

"Force the gas cap open. There's an engine cover emergency release."Happy says immediately.

"All right."

"Left hand side of the engine bay. Pull out the ECM chip." After she says this I hear the purr of the engine. We all wait anxiously as the plane flies down and Walter steers the Ferrari under it. I inhale sharply as Paige shoves the top off the Ferrari , stands up as the plane is right above her and struggles with the cord. I know she will be okay but that doesn't stop the panic from swelling up in my chest. I know she's safe with Walter, that he wouldn't have let her do it if he wasn't 100% positive that she was going to be okay. I know if there was a chance that she would get hurt or even god forbid die he would not have had her standing up in that car. He would have let the plane crash or he would have done it himself.

* * *

Walter's P.O.V.

* * *

I tighten my hands around the steering wheel and steer the car under the left wing of the plane. I inhale sharply as Paige shoves the top off the Ferrari, standing up as the plane flies right above her, and struggles with the cord. I know she will be okay, but that doesn't stop the panic from swelling up in my chest. Ever since the incident with Cabe and the packages I go out of my way to keep the people in my team and my family safe. Yet here I am letting a waitress that I don't know well, who also has a kid, stand up under a plane at 200 mph and try to hook my laptop up to the Ethernet that hanging of the landing wheels on the plane.

Paige struggles for a few more seconds before successfully hooking up the long ass Ethernet cable that dropped down from the plane and plugged it into my laptop where the software successfully downloads, simultaneously uploading to the LAX traffic control tower, and reestablishing communications. I sigh in relief and begin to focus on stopping the car. I jerk the wheel to the side and we skid sideways, stopping a couple inches away from the wall. Paige sucks in deep breaths trying calm her nerves. I get out and walk over to Cabe.

"Deal's a deal." Cabe says handing me a large orange envelope. I sigh deeply.

"Paige... she deserves a share."I say.

"I'll see to it. When we worked together, that didn't pan out the way either of us wanted. I was hoping, moving forward, things could be different." Cabe says as Riley walks up.

"Moving forward?"Riley and I say in unison. She sounds hopeful and happy, where as I'm pretty sure I sound suspicious and unhappy. My thoughts are confirmed when she glares at me. A hint of smile crosses my face quickly.

"I came to L.A. to start a strategic response team. At any given time, we deal with everything from stolen nukes to missing kids to counterfeit cash so good it can collapse our economy in less than a month. The bad guys are getting smarter. And I can't train my agents to think like you do. I have the full resources of the U.S. government. I need your help, and I think you and your team need a home." Cabe says and I nod along. I look away, turn my back and walk away before turning back to Cabe. I sigh and had him a folded up piece of paper.

"Here."

"Fixed salaries, cars, research lab. You saw this coming."He says with a slight smile.

"It was your only logical move." I say and almost against her will Ry smiles. Cabe holds out his hand for me to shake. I stare at it for a moment before taking it. We shake hands before he walks away.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" I ask with a hint of anger in my voice. The smile that was on Ry's face disappears and she storms away. I sigh. I just pissed her off even more. I turn around and walk over to Sly, Happy and Toby.

"Okay, lips are parted, leaning slightly forward. You have something to tell us." Toby says.

"He offered us jobs." I say with a smile. They all look excited.

"Me, too?" Toby asks incredulous.

"We're a team, aren't we?" I says then look around for Paige.

"The waitress just left to bring her son home. You just missed her." Toby says noticing the look of disappointment on my face. I nod then look over at Riley. She is over by her motorcycle. I sigh and walk over to her. She looks up upon hearing footsteps but scowls when she sees it's me. Hurt flashes across my face. After the "incident" I drift apart for Ry. I became closed off.

Less normal.

Less human.

Less like her big brother and protector.

I could see how much that hurt her but I didn't want to get hurt again so I ignored her. But I was the one was betrayed by Cabe.

By the government.

That was the day I lost all my innocence.

That was the day I vowed to change.

That day I learned a new kind of strength.

That was the day I started living by the saying "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."

From then on I promised myself that, "Nobody can hurt me without my permission."

But that wasn't an easy promise to keep. Especially when I found Toby then Sly and then Happy.

"Ry. We need to talk." I say and she whips her head up and glares at me. If looks could kill I would be dead right now.

"So, talk." She spits out.

"Come on Ry. Don't let this come between us. This isn't you." I plead.

"Maybe...just maybe I'm not the person you think I am, Walter. Ever think about that?" She ask before getting on her motorcycle and roaring away. I sigh in defeat and walk towards the rest of the team


	4. Truce

A/N: Toby/OC  
A/N: Bold Italic is Cabe text and phone calls.  
A/N: All outfits, cars, and such are on my profile page  
A/N: Italic is implied sarcasm. Italic is also thoughts.  
A/N:

Chapter 4: Truce

* * *

Riley's P.O.V.

* * *

My alarm clock/radio goes off and I groan. The stupid rooster alarm blares annoyingly. I hate that alarm but it gets me up every time without fail. I sit up, stretch my arms out wide and yawn. I didn't get much sleep last night, in fact I haven't got much sleep for the last three nights. Ever since Cabe came back into the picture and Walter and I being at odds about it, I've lost a lot of sleep. I've become even grumpier than before as a result. I whip my comforter off me, turn off my fan, and slip out of bed. I grab my Ipod, head into my bathroom, and pause a moment to turn on my shower so it can heat up. I hook up my Ipod to the speakers and scroll through my songs. I click and soft, sad, but beautiful piano fills the bathroom. It's Kelly Clarkson's song "Because Of You"

I hum along as I get undressed and slip into the shower. I step under the spray and flinch, the water is burning hot. I stand there for a few minutes to let my body adjust to heat. Once my body adjusts to the temperature I step under the spray and rest my forehead against the cool tiles. The hot water cascades over my body and relaxes my muscles and soothes my sores. I may have pushed myself too hard on the treadmill last night. I was just so frustrated that I got lost in the pounding rhythm of my feet hitting the belt. I shake my head and grab my body wash. I take my time lathering my hair and body with soap and shampoo before rinsing off. The water is starting to cool down so I quickly lather my hair up with conditioner before rinsing that out. I reach down, turn off the water, and grab two towels, one to wrap around my body and the other to wrap around my hair. After drying off a bit I walk over to my closet and grab the first thing that my fingers touch.

It turns out to be a gorgeous dark blue high low dress with a black belt. I slip on my dark blue lacy undergarments before slipping on the dress I picked. I put on some deodorant then grab my favorite pair of black strappy heels and slip them on. Then I head over to my dresser and grab my hairbrush, I have to comb all the knots out of my hair. After the knots are all out I put some leave in conditioner and fluff my hair. I slip in my ball earrings. I grab my dark blue watch (Left Wrist) and my black with silver chains bracelet (Right Wrist) and slip them on. I grab my black key necklace, my silver and dark blue locket with Walter's picture on the right and Megan's on the left and slip them on. I grab my purse and jacket, making sure that my gun has plenty of bullets.

I pause at the top of the stair when I hear Walter moving around below. I take several deep breaths and walk down the stairs, my heels clicking against the hardwood floors. I settle my nerves and walk into the kitchen. Walter stiffens when he hears me, his head still in our fridge. He grabs the oranges juice and pours himself a glass, he looks at me before pouring another glass and sliding it my way.

"Where are you going dressed like that?"He asks hesitantly. I open my mouth to make a sassy remark back to him but then I see his face fully. He looks so tired, stressed but also hopeful and eager.

"I'm going to see Megan." I says slowly. I take a sip of the orange juice and sigh in contentment. I love orange juice especially with kind with the pulp left in it. I look up and see Walter smiling at me fondly. When he smiles like that I almost forget what we're fighting about. I just want to hug and have his muscular arms wrap around me and make me feel safe and protected.

"Look I know that I've acted like a real jerk to you and you me and I know that this argument is far from over but could we maybe...have a truce. I was going to see Megz today too and I don't want us to be fighting in front of her." Walter says and I nod. I smile at him calling her Megz. That was my childhood nickname for her and I guess he picked it up.

"I'd like that." I say with a soft smile and he looks relieved. He quickly finishes his orange juice and muffin and heads upstairs to brush his teeth. I watch him go while slowly drinking the rest of my orange juice and savoring the taste. I grab a s'mores pop-tarts pack, stick it in my purse, and head upstairs to my bathroom to brush my own teeth.

"We're taking my car." I shout and Walter groans. I grin, grab my purse, and head out the door with Walter right behind me. I open the driver's side door and slide in start my car and smirk at the sound the of the engine purring. He chuckles happily and slides in the passenger side, we tear out of our driveway. I roll down the windows and stick my hand out the window as the wind blows my hair back.

We ride in silence the whole way there. It wasn't an awkward silence but a "we know each other so well that we don't have to fill up the silence with meaningless small talk" silence. With my driving it doesn't take us very long to get to Megan's building.

"Riley. Walter." The nurse at the front desk says with a smile. She nods at us and lets us in with a grin. We've come here plenty of times, so she knows us by name now. We're both constantly in here visiting Megan, well...at least I am. I don't know about Walter.

We get on the elevator and I rock back and forth on my heels impatiently. Walter looks over at me and frown. This isn't me...but it is. Every time I come here I'm like this but he wouldn't know that cause we tend to come on different days. Finally the elevator dings and lets us out. I run down the hall and burst breathlessly into Megz room. She looks up in shock.

"What's up? Is it Walter?" She asks once she recovers from her shock and regains her voice. I just hug her tightly and bury my head in her neck. Her sisterly instincts kick in and she hugs me tightly back. I let go of her some what reluctantly and curl up into her side like I used to to do when I was younger and got frightened.

"Is it Walter?" She asks again, her tone worried. I shake my head, at the same time I hear a snort over by the door. I don't look up cause I know it's just Walter. She sighs in relief now that she knows Walter is safe and not hurt.

"Hi." She says to Walt and awkwardly leans forward to hug Walter. I groan as she bends my neck in doing so but just curl myself tighter around her. She looks down at me and brushes the hair out of my eyes softly.

"Want to tell me what's wrong?" She asks.

"Nothing." I say my voice muffled by her shirt. She looks unconvinced but drops it. I look up and see her glaring at Walter while he just pretends he doesn't see her. She keeps staring at him and he keeps pretending he doesn't see her. Finally, she stops glaring at him and just starts talking to him about random stuff. I tune them out. Slowly my eyes get heavier and heavier and before long I am fast asleep.

The warmth under me shifts and I bolt up. I reach for my gun inside my jacket but it's no longer there. I freeze then slowly turn in the direction to the warmth. I sigh in relief as I see Megan looking up at me. She looks both amused and concerned. I look around in embarrassment when I notice I am no longer wearing my heels either.

"How long have I been out?" I ask my throat dry and feeling like sandpaper being rubbed together. I absentmindedly notice that Walter is gone and that I also feel much more well rested than I have in days.

"Two hours." She says, her eyebrows raised. "Why are you so tired?" I avoid her eyes, making sure to look anywhere in the room but in her eyes.

"Okay, Lets try this. Why are you and Walter fighting?" She asks and I jerk my head up in surprise.

"How did you know Walter and I were fighting?" I ask the surprise clear in my voice.

"Lets call it sister's intuition." She says with a shrug and I grin. Megan may not be a genius like Walter and me, but she is gifted in different ways.

She helped Walter and I get through school and protected us from anyone who wanted to do us harm. In her later years, Walter decided he wants to help pay back the favor of his sister always being there throughout his childhood, and "fix" her medical condition "Multiple Sclerosis".

Walter shows some emotion around Megan, despite his claims, and he is always worrying about her. Megan just wants to spend more time with him though. The rustling of the sheets brings me back to reality. Megan pouts at me and I chuckle. I sit criss cross applesauce and Megz copies me "Fine. Walter and I are indeed fighting. Cabe came into town and seeked him out. He al-"

"Wait. Wait. Cabe seeked Walter out?" Megan asks bewildered. I nod and she gestures for me to continue. "Walter also found out that Cabe and I have still kept in contact with each other." I take a deep breath, lower my head and then peek over at her from under my eyelashes.

"Whoa. Wait. I thought you already told him." She exclaims and I suddenly and conveniently find my lap very very interesting. I fidget and play with my hands. She sighs in exasperation. "So, what happen?"

"He got angry, yelled at me. I in turn got angry and yelled at him and I may have said something along the lines of "I'm not the person you think I am" and then got on my motorcycle and rode away. We haven't talk since then and that was three nights ago." I say with a shrug. I wait for the chastising I know is coming my way and I didn't have to wait long.

"Riley Elizabeth O'Brien! I know I taught you better. See! This is what happens when you keep secrets from your brother." Megan chastises me. My heart clenches at the look of utter disappointment of Megz face. I could tell myself that her opinion doesn't matter, but I would be lying. It does.

"To be fair I was going to tell him. I swear I was but I got distracted. Cabe didn't contact me for FOUR months and I asked him about the day he tracked down Walter and I, but he didn't tell me why. We're not supposed to keep secrets from each other." I say sadly and she frowns in sympathy.

"You know that feeling of betrayal that you felt then, well..Walter felt the same sense of betrayal when he found out you kept in touch with Cabe and didn't bother to inform him. He may deny that he felt betrayed, but trust me I know him and I know he felt betrayed." She say softly. I groan and fall to the side. I hate when she talks logically like that because even I can't dispute evidence like that.

"What am I supposed to do now, Megz?"I ask desperately. Right now I desperately need my big sister amazing advice. I screwed up royally and I know. But I don't want to admit it.

"I can't tell you what to do only you know what to do." She says and I groan. She grins and whacks me straight in the face with her pillow. I giggle and she smiles.

"Cheesy movies and ice cream?" I ask with a smile and she lights up. She gets up, bends over and reaches under the bed. She pulls out a Vodka bottle and grins. My mouth falls open.

"Ah, memory impairment. The free prize at the bottom of every Vodka bottle." I quip sarcastically and Megz laughs. I grab the remote and turn on her flat screen TV.

"Ok...we have Mean Girls, Burlesque, 27 Dresses, Bride Wars, The Ugly Truth, Bridesmaids, Footloose (New Version), The Last Song, When in Rome, Freaky Friday, or You Again."

"The Ugly Truth." I say immediately and she nods. "I know you would pick that one. It was always your favorite Gerard Butler movie" I get up and slip on my heels.

"Where are you going?" She asks worriedly and I smile at her reassuringly. "To get our Deep Dark Chocolate Ice Cream of course."

"How did you sneak that in here anyways?" She asks and I scoff. "You doubt my abilities sister?" I ask with my hands on my hips. She laughs and shoo's me out her door. I laugh and sprint out the door and into the elevator. I tap my fingers impatiently on the railing in the elevator. Finally the elevator dings and I step out into the cafeteria.

"Riley!" The familiar voice of Cleo the cash register lady calls out. I switch directions and head over to her. I give her a hug.

"Hey, I just came for the big carton of Deep Dark Chocolate Ice Cream. Megan and I are having a girls day." I explain with a smile. She nods and goes to grab it from the freezer. She hands the tub to me along with two spoons.

"Thanks." I say with a wave before heading to the elevator. Holding the carton and spoons in one hand I tap my fingers impatiently on the railing with the other. Finally the elevator dings and I run back to Megan's room. I arrive in the nick of time the movie is just starting. I quickly slip off my heels and slide into bed with Megz. I take off the top of the carton, throw it on the floor, hand Megz her spoon, dig in and settle down for an hour and a half of Gerard Butler hotness.


End file.
